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(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metering device for dispensing a metered amount of liquid. In particular, the invention relates to a metering device which has a spool valve to regulate the movement of liquid from the inlet through the storage chamber to the outlet and a dosage ring to limit the movement of the plunger to control the amount of liquid being dispensed.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The related art has shown various types of liquid dispensing devices having metering systems for adjusting the amount of liquid being dispensed. Illustrative are U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,847 to Dooley; U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,855 to Hierath et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,010 to Winiasz; U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,663 to Hooper et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,275 to Centea et al.
Dooley describes a dispensing apparatus which uses various sized sleeves placed around the shaft of the dispensing piston to limit the downward movement of the piston thus, determining the quantity of material which is to be dispensed.
Hooper et al describes a self-metering and dispensing device of fluids obtained from a pressurized fluid supply. The device meters the amount of fluid dispensed by stopping the downward movement of the piston during filling of the device. The means for metering the fluid includes a rotatable ring and several buttons. The ends of the buttons extend into the reservoir adjacent the piston. The buttons are held in place by the rotatable ring. The rotatable ring has cavities such that when a cavity is positioned over a button, the button is slidably forced into the cavity by the movement of the piston, thereby not affecting any movement of the piston. Positioning the ring so that no cavity is over the button, positions the button so that its end portion extends into and is held in place inside the reservoir, stopping the downward movement of the piston by contact between the button and the plunger. To facilitate the proper positioning of the rotatable ring, the ring has numerals which indicate the volume the reservoir was set to retain.
Centea et al describes a hand-held dispensing device which uses an adjustment screw to limit the movement of the piston during dispensing of the liquid to adjust the amount of liquid dispensed by the device. In this device, the piston is not directly acting on the liquid to dispense the liquid.
The related art has also shown various types of dispensing devices using a spool valve to regulate the movement of the liquid into and out of the device and to dispense the liquid. Illustrative are U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,281 to Rosen et al; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,650,099 and 4,821,927 both to Paulsen et al. In particular, ""099 and ""927 to Paulsen et al describe a gun for repeatedly dispensing precisely metered quantities of liquid from a pressurized source. The gun includes a valve spool. In a first position, the valve spool section blocks the outlet portion of the valve chamber while permitting the flow of pressurized liquid into a metering chamber of the gun. In a second position, both the inlet and outlet ports of the valve chamber are blocked thus stopping the flow of liquid. In the third position, the inlet port is blocked while permitting communication between the liquid contained in the metering chamber and the discharge nozzle of the gun. To regulate the amount of liquid dispensed by the gun, an adjustment stop is positioned so as to engage the piston to prevent movement of the piston during filling of the metering chamber.
There remains a need for a dispensing device which uses a metering system which limits the travel of the plunger during dispensing to vary the dosage of the fluid being dispensed.
A device for dispensing a metered amount of liquid from a pressurized source of liquid. The device includes a storage container, a valve and a metering system. The storage container contains a plunger slidably mounted in the inner chamber of the storage container. The valve is preferably a spool valve which allows for completely closing the inlet before the outlet is opened to reduce the possibility of inaccuracies in the amount of liquid dispensed. The metering system includes a dosage ring with a pin. The ring mounts on the outer surface of the storage container adjacent a dosage slot. The pin extends through the slot in the sidewall of the container and into a slot in the sidewall of the plunger. The pin contacts the bottom end of the slot in the plunger to stop the forward movement of the plunger during dispensing of the liquid thus, stopping the forward movement of the plunger and stopping the pressure on the liquid tending to move the liquid out of the storage container through the valve and out of the nozzle. The slot has side dosage notches to fix the ring in place at a specific dosage. The device is preferably fully mechanical to increase the ease of use and to reduce the possibility of parts failure due to environmental conditions.
The present invention relates to a device for dispensing a predetermined amount of liquid which comprises: a storage container having a first end and a second end defining a longitudinal axis of the storage container with an inner chamber spaced between the ends and having an orifice in the first end in fluid communication with the inner chamber; a plunger slidably mounted in the inner chamber of the storage container; a means mounted in the inner chamber adjacent the plunger for biasing the plunger toward the orifice of the storage container; a dosage ring slidably mounted on the storage container, wherein the dosage ring determines the amount of liquid dispensed by contacting the plunger during movement of the plunger during dispensing of the liquid to stop movement of the plunger and to stop dispensing of the liquid; and a valve connected to the storage container configured to allow the liquid to move into and out of the storage container.
Further, the present invention relates to a device for dispensing a predetermined amount of liquid which comprises: a storage container having a first end and a second end defining a longitudinal axis of the storage container with an inner chamber spaced between the ends and having an orifice in the first end in fluid communication with the inner chamber; a plunger slidably mounted in the inner chamber of the storage container; a means mounted in the inner chamber adjacent the plunger for biasing the plunger toward the orifice of the storage container; a dosage ring slidably mounted on the storage container, wherein the dosage ring determines the amount of liquid dispensed by contacting the plunger during dispensing of the liquid to stop the movement of the plunger and to stop the dispensing of the liquid; and a valve connected to the storage container configured to allow the liquid to move into and out of the storage container, the valve including a body with an inner chamber, an inlet configured to be connected to a source of liquid, an inlet/outlet in fluid communication with the orifice of the storage container, an outlet for dispensing liquid from the dispenser, wherein the inlet, outlet and inlet/outlet are in fluid communication with the inner chamber of the valve, and a rod slidably mounted in the inner chamber of the valve and configured to open and close the inlet, outlet and inlet/outlet to control the dispensing of the liquid, wherein in use when the valve is in a fill position, the liquid will enter the inner chamber of the valve through the inlet and will exit the inner chamber of the valve through the inlet/outlet and will enter the inner chamber of the storage container through the orifice and wherein in use when the valve is in a dispense position, the liquid will exit the inner chamber of the storage container through the orifice and will enter the inner chamber of the valve through the inlet/outlet and will exit the inner chamber of the valve through the outlet so that the liquid is dispensed.
Still further, the present invention relates to a system for dispensing a predetermined amount of liquid, which comprises: a source of the liquid having an outlet and a means for moving the liquid through the outlet under pressure; a device which includes a storage container having a first and second end defining a longitudinal axis of the storage container with an inner chamber spaced between the ends and having an orifice in the first end; a plunger slidably mounted in the inner chamber of the storage container; a means mounted in the inner chamber of the storage container adjacent the plunger for biasing the plunger toward the orifice; a dosage ring slidably mounted on the storage container wherein, the dosage ring determines the amount of liquid dispensed by contacting the plunger during movement of the plunger during dispensing of the liquid, to stop movement of the plunger and to stop dispensing of the liquid; and a valve connected to the storage container configured to allow the liquid to move into and out of the storage container.
Further still, the present invention relates to a system for dispensing a predetermined amount of liquid, which comprises: a source of the liquid having an outlet and a means for moving the liquid through the outlet under pressure; a device which includes a storage container having a first and second end defining a longitudinal axis of the storage container with an inner chamber spaced between the ends and having an orifice in the first end; a plunger slidably mounted in the inner chamber of the storage container; a means mounted in the inner chamber of the storage container adjacent the plunger for biasing the plunger toward the orifice; a dosage ring slidably mounted on the storage container wherein, the dosage ring determines the amount of liquid dispensed by contacting the plunger during movement of the plunger during dispensing of the liquid, to stop movement of the plunger and to stop dispensing of the liquid; and a valve connected to the storage container configured to allow the liquid to move into and out of the storage container, the valve having a body with an inner chamber, an inlet configured to be connected to the source of liquid, an inlet/outlet in fluid communication with the orifice of the storage container, an outlet for dispensing the liquid from the device, wherein the inlet, outlet and inlet/outlet are in fluid communication with the inner chamber of the valve, and a rod slidably mounted in the inner chamber of the valve and configured to open and close the inlet, outlet and inlet/outlet to control the dispensing of the liquid wherein in use, when the valve is in a fill position, the liquid will move from the source of liquid to the storage container through the valve and wherein, in use, when the valve is in a dispense position, the predetermined amount of liquid will be dispensed from the storage container through the valve and out the outlet of the valve.
Finally, the present invention relates to a method for dispensing a predetermined amount of liquid, which comprises the steps of: providing a device having a storage container having opposed ends defining a longitudinal axis of the storage container with an inner chamber spaced between the ends and having an orifice in one of the ends in fluid communication with the inner chamber; a plunger slidably mounted in the inner chamber of the storage container; a means mounted in the inner chamber adjacent the plunger for biasing the plunger toward the orifice of the storage container; a dosage ring mounted on the storage container; and a valve connected to the storage container for moving the liquid into and out of the storage container; providing a source of liquid having an outlet and a means for moving the liquid through the outlet under pressure; connecting the source of liquid to the valve with the valve in a fill position such that the liquid under pressure moves from the source of liquid through the valve and into the inner chamber of the storage container; moving the dosage ring along the longitudinal axis of the storage container to a predetermined dosage; and moving the valve to a dispense position such that the plunger moves toward the orifice of the storage container and pushes the liquid in the inner chamber of the storage container out of the orifice of the storage container through the valve so that the liquid is dispensed through an outlet of the valve until the plunger contacts the dosage ring which stops the movement of the plunger such that the liquid in the inner chamber of the storage container does not move out of the orifice of the storage container.